Image credit: Stefan Miljuš via WikiCommons

“Once again, independent journalists seeking to inform on nationwide protests in Serbia are the target of the Serbian authorities as well as pro-government media and trolls, who not only prevent them from reporting but vilify them through hateful statements and manipulated videos. We stand with the courageous journalists of Serbia and urge the authorities to ensure their safety” - Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee

07 February 2025: The Serbian authorities must uphold the right to peacefully protest and ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists, PEN International said today, as student-led demonstrations continue to sweep through the country.

The trigger for the latest protests came on 1 November 2024, when 15 people died and several were seriously injured following the collapse of the concrete canopy of the newly renovated train station in Novi Sad, northern Serbia. Many blamed the Serbian authorities for the disaster, alleging corruption and incompetence. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been taking part in student-led demonstrations across the country, urging transparency and accountability. Serbia’s transport minister and prime minister subsequently resigned, with the protests showing no sign of abating. On 3 February 2025, Serbia’s Bar Association declared a one-month lawyers’ strike in solidarity, bringing the justice system to a halt.

Protesters have alleged that pro-government groups have been seeking to escalate violence during the largely peaceful protests, in an effort to disrupt and undermine them. Pro-government media have been reporting negatively on the protests and published some protesters’ personal data, raising concerns for their safety. Notably, in January 2025, a showing at the University of Belgrade of Oliver Frljić’s play Zoran Đinđić – based on the late Serbian prime minister assassinated in 2003 because of his pro-democracy stance and crackdown on organised crime – was demonised on social media and portrayed by tabloids as yet another example of students offending and betraying Serbia. President Aleksandar Vučić alleged students were receiving money from abroad and accused foreign media of lying about the protests.

Journalists in Serbia have been prevented from reporting on the protests and vilified by pro-government media. Amongst those targeted is Serbian broadcaster and journalist Zoran Kesić, who reported at least 200 threatening graffiti across Belgrade linking him to the Novi Sad tragedy, prompting a complaint by the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM). The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) recorded over 30 instances of attacks, verbal threats and intimidation of journalists by public officials, law enforcement officials and individuals in January 2025 alone.

An edited video, published on 3 March 2025 and widely shared on social media platforms, saw actors Marko Janketić and Mirjana Karanović, journalists Zoran Kesić, Jelena Obućina and Marko Vidojković, playwright Biljana Srbljanović and historian Milan St Protić made to appear as supporting Kosovo’s independence and branded traitors. Some featured in the video reported receiving death threats. Parliamentary elections have been scheduled for Kosovo on 9 February amid rising tension with the country’s ethnic Serbs and Serbia itself.

PEN International urges the Serbian authorities to abide by their national and international obligations to uphold the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and to ensure that journalists, writers and activists can speak out and inform without fear of reprisal.

For more information about the state of freedom of expression in Serbia, please see PEN International’s report Toxic Narratives. Silencing Expression in the Western Balkans.

Note to editors:

For further details contact Aurélia Dondo, Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International: Aurelia.dondo@pen-international.org

For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, PEN International Communications and Campaigns Manager,  Sabrina.Tucci@pen-international.org  